Plans for a “Ghostbusters” spin-off and a new Cameron Crowe film starring Bradley Cooper were outed Monday as more Sony Pictures emails were leaked by hackers.
The emails, uncovered by the Daily Beast, revealed Sony’s plan to pair up two of their biggest box-office stars — Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt — for a possible “Ghostbusters” spin-off.
Tatum couldn’t be more pumped to follow in Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd‘s footsteps, according to an email sent on Aug. 21 to Sony co-chair Amy Pascal.
“Let us show the world The DarkSide and let us fight it with all the glory and epicness of a HUGE BATMAN BEGINS MOVIE,” wrote Tatum. “I know we can make this a huge franchise. Fun adventure craziness. COME OONNNN!!!”
The Pratt and Tatum film proposal comes as director Paul Feig has already been working on a “Ghostbusters” film starring an all-female ghost-busting team.
The “Ghostbuster” emails are much tamer than previously leaked emails that have left the studio with a black eye, including emails referring to Angelina Jolie as a “spoiled brat” and Kevin Hart as a “whore.”
The day after Channing sent his email to Pascal, co-president of production for Columbia Pictures Hannah Minghella outlined Tatum’s plan in another email to Pascal, according to the Daily Beast.
“So … in a curious turn of events — the Russos and Channing want to develop Ghostbusters as a vehicle for Channing and Chris Pratt to do together,” Minghella wrote. “The Russos, Channing and Reid have been brainstorming ideas and want to create a whole new mythology that would support multiple movies (the way that Nolan reinvented Batman). To be clear — the Russos want to produce (not direct) and while Channing and Chris are looking for a movie to do together they haven’t mentioned this to him yet because they weren’t sure how we’d react.”
Minghella chimes in, letting Pascal know that the Hollywood hunks each had high hopes for the spin-off, which could run in “partnership” with Feig’s other film.
“They want to make it simultaneously super scary while also super funny,” she wrote. “They love the idea that they are mortal heroes who are believers in the paranormal and the only people who can defend mankind from a paranormal threat. I know we’re mid negotiations with Paul [Feig]. I’m not sure whether we’d ever develop two different versions simultaneously. Joe Russo is open to the idea that both movies could be developed in partnership so they compliment one another within the same Ghostbusters universe. Apparently the Russos are very close to Paul and Joe suggested Paul could be attached to direct both. Personally I think it’s possible for the female version to co-exist with this other version so maybe they’re not mutually exclusive.”
In another set of leaked emails, Pascal described an untitled Cameron Crowe “action romance” starring Cooper and Emma Stone slated for 2015 as being “way worse” than what she had imagined.
“It never … not even once … ever works,” the co-chair wrote to SPE principals, according to Gawker. “It’s a wrap. There is no more to do.”
The film, which also stars Rachel McAdams and Bill Murray, was screened in Huntington Beach, California, and then in the Big Apple. Pascal’s emails were sent after the second viewing in New York.
“I’m never starting a movie again when the script is ridiculous,” she continued. “I don’t care how much I love the director and the actors.”
Dubbed “Deep Tiki” — the movie focuses on a military weapons consultant in Hawaii — it has been in production since 2008 and the cast at one point included Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon. They both eventually abandoned the project due to scheduling problems, Gawker reports.
“As much as I want movies, this is way worse,” Pascal said.